Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy

Baroness Hale of RIchmond whips off the unveilng cloth from the Our Elizabeth statue
OUR ELIZABETH STATUE UNVEILED BY BARONESS HALE OF RICHMOND (PHOTO COURTESY OF PETE STONIER)

Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy Statue, Congleton, Cheshire

The commission

Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy (1833-1918), was my kind of feminist. She lobbied for equality throughout her life, working tirelessly for girls’ education, for women’s right to own property and for their right to vote. Emmeline Pankhurst dubbed her ‘the brains of the suffragist movement’. She lived in Congleton, Cheshire. The Elizabeth’s Group was formed to raise awareness of her national contribution to women’s rights and commissioned me to tell her story in bronze.

The story

Elizabeth is on the streets of Congleton, caught engaging enthusiastically with passers-by. Perhaps she is urging women to demand the vote. Or promoting the importance of girls’ education to reluctant fathers. Or arguing that women must be able to own their own property and keep their earnings. (Photo courtesy of Pete Stonier.)

The technique

The clay statue of Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy in the artist's studioI follow traditional techniques to ensure the highest quality: working with a life model (Rosie Talbot), building a strong armature to size, hand-building the clay figure, first unclothed, then sculpting-on the clothes. The mould was made in my studio, then shipped up to the foundry (Bronze Age Sculpture Casting Foundry).

 

Unveiling

On a glorious International Women’s Day – 8 March 2022 – the statue of Our Elizabeth was unveiled very fittingly by Baroness Hale of Richmond, the former President of the Supreme Court. First, the crowds – including many schoolchildren – marched down Bridge Street to greet the statue. Thanks to Prickly Peach Films and BBC North West for their coverage.

UNVEILING FILM BY PRICKLY PEACH
UNVEILING COVERAGE FROM BBC NORTH WEST

Project

Commissioner: Elizabeth’s Group, Susan Munro (lead)

Location: Congleton

Unveiling: 8 March 2022

Dimensions: 4ft 11in

Material: Clay, bronze

Funders: crowdfunding and private donations

Model: Rosie Talbot

Costume design: Rosie Talbot

Foundry: Bronze Age Sculpture Casting Foundry; Installation: Artful Logistics

Patination: Derek Bayley

Critical eye: Marji Talbot (Art Junction)

Studio technical assistance: Mark Longworth, Sandra Reeves